High Key Stressed {Choi Yeonjun Series}

Chapter 5

"Dear Lord, it's hot in here!" Luz complained as she wrangled her impossibly long hair into a topknot. The guys had all gone except for Huening Kai. He stood watching Luz as she struggled with her hair.

"Have you ever thought about cutting it?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "I've never had a proper haircut. My mom used to trim my ends, but I've never actually cut several inches off my hair."

"Is that like a religious thing?" Kai asked.

Luz considered for a moment whether she wanted to tell her story. Finally, she decided to take the plunge.

"Here's the thing. Growing up, I was never allowed to cut my hair because long hair was a big deal in my family because of something that happened to my Ita, my grandma," Luz explained. "It's a childhood wound that she never got over and she passed it on to all the girls in the family."

Huening Kai was intrigued. He squatted beside Luz and looked at her with interest. "Tell me more," he encouraged.

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but Mexican hair is very valuable to wig makers. It's thick and strong and it makes really awesome hair pieces," Luz went on.

Huening Kai responded, "I've heard the same thing about Asian hair."

"Yeah," Luz replied, "it's basically the same concept." She was trying to tell her story without looking too much at Kai. She was still a bit uncomfortable after their almost kiss the other day. However, she was also still hurting over Yeonjun's rejection. Part of her sort of wanted to give Kai a chance, but another part of her knew that her heart still belonged to Yeonjun, even if he didn't want her.

"So...," Huening Kai prompted when Luz had remained silent for several seconds.

"Oh, right, I was telling a story," she said as she pulled herself away from her brooding thoughts. "So, when my Ita was about 11, her mom took her to the salon. At first, she was really excited because she had never been in one before, but it didn't take long for her to figure out what was going on. This strange man started examining her hair and haggling over the price with her mom. In the end, they cut off over 12 inches of hair and sold it to the wig maker. My Ita never forgot that day. She said she was humiliated as she walked around for months with a boyish haircut. She never fully forgave my great grandma for the indignity she caused her to suffer. So, she never wanted any of us to lose our long hair. She called it our 'crowing glory'," Luz finished with a sigh.

"But it's your hair," Kai said emphatically. "I mean, you are a super independent woman. It seems kind of odd to me that you would let someone else dictate what you do with your own hair."

"Yeah, I guess," Luz replied. "Did you ever hear of generational trauma?" she asked. Without waiting to hear an answer, she went on, "It's like when you're still affected by something that happened a couple of generations back."

"Yeah, I get it. It's just that it seems like you shouldn't be controlled by the past like that. Plus, I think girls with short hair are sexy," he said. He looked about nervously. "I mean, not that it matters if I find you sexy. I mean, it's your call. You shouldn't worry about what I think, right?" He realized he was blathering on nervously. "I mean, I'm not trying to come on to you again," he clarified.

Luz smiled. "Don't say it like that," she replied. "You are a really sweet guy. It's just that I like someone else right now. That's all it is. I swear. Otherwise, I would be into you, I'm sure," she added.